Friday Five: Mobile Trends to Watch

Media consumption habits of consumers change quickly and because of this, there is currently an increased focus on mobile capabilities. A few weeks ago we published a “Friday Five” post discussing some of the challenges mobile communication faces in the current market. This week there are a number of reports that shine a light on positive statistics displaying the outstanding job mobile is doing contributing to various industries and offering new opportunities for consumers. We are also seeing how a number of mobile apps are now able to extract new data that offers more conclusive measurements.

In this week’s PRSA “Friday Five” post — an analysis of the week’s biggest public relations and business news and commentary — we explore how companies decide the best route to pursue in regard to mobile technology. We look at reports and studies showing the number of proponents urging the advertising industry to see a higher value in larger mobile ad budgets. Finally, we look at two apps, one bringing better data to the table and the other exploring a new realm of social engagement issuing opportunities for better use accountability.

Edelman Digital’s Tony Long discusses various factors that impact the mobile journey businesses decide to take. The first focus is data. According to Long, when a company is mapping out their mobile strategy, their main goals are to make data and data related services available to their desired audience and to offer experiences they want their audience to have. In addition, companies focus on finding the right balance among three factors: desired audience and size of reach, type of data services to be delivered and anticipated update requirements. Looking at these three factors can help a business determine whether they have the operating capacity to produce on this level. Finally, Long discusses the highly impactful result of mobile interactivity. He points out that mobile interactivity offers numerous opportunities for businesses provided they have the right resources to support such initiatives. Long’s blog post this week is an update to an article he originally published on MobileMarketer.com in April 2011.

Smartphones and tablets helped mobile consumption of entertainment grow 82 percent from 2010 – 2011. Not too shabby! Millennial Media and comScore produced a mobile intelligence report that showed “this growth outpaced the 55 percent increase in overall smartphone ownership within the same period.” These numbers come as a result of increased ad spending and the widespread adoption of smartphones. According to the report “entertainment has become the third leading mobile advertising vertical, based on spending.” How often do you access entertainment on your mobile device of choice?

While Mary Meeker’s influential Internet trends report shows that “we spend about 10 percent of our time with mobile but the medium only commands one percent of U.S. ad dollars.” These numbers ushered a response from the Mobile Marketing Association who issued a report based on a mobile study, “MXS”, conducted by marketing ROI specialist firm Marketing Evolution. Marketing Evolution challenges marketers and agencies to look deeper at how they are allocating billions of ad dollars in their marketing mix in light of the radically changing mobile centric consumer media landscape. The MXS study, which stands for Mobile’s X% Solution, recommends that mobile ad budgets should increase to seven percent, especially with the growing adoption of smart phones. Based on other trends reported in the mobile study, MMA Global CEO Greg Stuart explains that the recommended increase in mobile ad spending deserves a larger discussion among ad industry leaders “[on] what a rebalanced marketing mix should look like to achieve a stronger ROI on every dollar they spend.”

Placed, a Seattle-based location-analytics startup for app developers, is placing a greater focus on the mobile web. Placed’s main function is to cross-reference location data against a massive database in order to paint a picture of where apps or sites are being used most. The location-analytics startup is forging into new markets by creating a new web version of the application. This allows companies to see not just how many people are visiting their mobile sites, but where they are when they’re doing so, providing greater insight about customers. In essence, the idea is that this will eventually lead to better advertising and product development. Placed founder and CEO David Shim described some potential use cases for the new web version. Here is one example:

Lift is a new app developed by the co-founders of Twitter designed to make you a better person through continuous positive reinforcement. The app allows users to set goals and through connections with other users, friends are able to encourage you to complete your goals and nudge you when you’re falling off the wagon. While most use Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to solicit positive feedback from friends, Lift is an app that keeps things real for users and among certain connections with whom they choose to engage. The Huffington Post contributor Bianca Bosker explains that Lift offers a number of habits to choose from and each user has the ability to improve said habit. Bosker wrote, “The top 10 Lift goals are to drink more water (2,493 participants), floss (2,493), read (1,448), sleep by midnight (1,334), sleep at least eight hours (1,277), run (1,142), eat breakfast (1,131), meditate (1,039), pushup(s) (906) and ‘set priorities for your day’ (864).” What’s your Lift goal?

Nicole Castro is the public relations associate at the Public Relations Society of America.

About the author

Nicole Castro

3 Comments

[…] Mobile Trends to Watch (PRSAY)There are a number of reports that shine a light on positive statistics displaying the outstanding job mobile is doing contributing to various industries and offering new opportunities for consumers. […]

[…] Mobile Trends to Watch (PRSAY)There are a number of reports that shine a light on positive statistics displaying the outstanding job mobile is doing contributing to various industries and offering new opportunities for consumers. […]

[…] Mobile Trends to Watch (PRSAY)There are a number of reports that shine a light on positive statistics displaying the outstanding job mobile is doing contributing to various industries and offering new opportunities for consumers. […]